The Chronicles of Blue Water Bay
by SereneCalamity
Summary: A hot new guy named Troy Bolton moves to Blue Water Bay and he and popular cheerleader Gabriella Montez instantly become friends. But Troy's hiding a family secret, and it's affecting him really badly. Troyella.
1. Chapter 1

_This was slightly inspired by_ Blue Water High _the t.v. series and then _Summerland. _This will be a_ _c__hronicles, which means series. So, I hope you enjoy:_

Gabriella Montez tossed her long dark hair over her shoulder and squinted up at the sky. The bright sun winked down at her…and then a tumble of droplets of water fell down on her.

"Argh!" Gabriella screamed, jumping up off the sand. Jesse Arnold collapsed on the sand beside her. Gabriella whacked him playfully and then lay back down. Her light cotton shirt blew slightly in the breeze and Gabriella pulled it back down over her bikini. Jesse played with the sand, letting the sun dry him.

"Hey, Gabs," Lisa Arnold yelled, coming up from the waves. Gabriella grinned at her friend and shifted on the towel so she could sit down. Taylor McKessie, Gabriella's other best-friend, came over and sat beside Jesse. Chad Danforth, Jesse's best-friend, came over and sat down by Taylor and they started laughing and talking about school. Lisa and her brother began joking around, pointing at an overweight lady squeezed in a bikini. Gabriella stayed out of the conversation, tanning in the hot sun.

"Gabriella!" Came a loud shout. Gabriella sat up and looked over to where her older sister was yelling from the balcony of their house. "Come on!" Gabriella got up and smiled at her friends.

"See you guys," Gabriella called as she ran from the beach with her towel. They all called and waved after her as she ran up the stairs to the house.

"Alright, Gabi," Eva Montez began. "A man and his son have just moved into the house down the road. The man is going to be the new basketball coach, and his son is pretty good--I got a glimpse of him, pretty cute as well," Eva gave her little sister a nudge. Gabriella rolled her eyes. "C'mon, I'm gonna take down a cake, come with me." Gabriella followed Eva out the front door and down the street.

Sand was littered across the concrete path because of the beach just next door, and it came in through Gabriella's open sandals. They reached the new house and Eva was about to knock on the door, when they heard shouting inside. Eva frowned, and then knocked. Everything went silent, and then the door opened.

_Whoa, _Gabriella thought. _He is cute. _

"Yes?" Came an uncertain voice.

"Hi, I'm Eva from down the road and this is my sister," Eva replied in a cheerful voice. The door opened more as an older man stood there.

"Hello?"

"I'm Eva--from down the road--and this is my sister, Gabriella. We just came to say 'welcome to Blue Water Bay'," Eva pushed the cake toward them. The man smiled, took it, and put out his hand. He gave Gabriella an odd look, because she wasn't wearing much, but shook her hand anyway.

"Jack Bolton, and this is my son, Troy," Jack said. Gabriella glanced at him quickly and realized something was wrong. "Come in." Troy Bolton glanced worriedly at his father, and walked off, leaving Jack to show Gabriella and Eva inside.

After Jack gave them a tour, he began making a coffee.

"Troy's room is second on the left upstairs, go up and see him," Jack suggested. Gabriella smiled awkwardly and walked off. She climbed the stairs and stood in front of the second door. She lifted her hand and knocked softly.

"Come in!" Troy called. Gabriella walked in. Troy was standing on his balcony, with no top on. Gabriella saw a well formed back and--as he turned around--a nice chest. But there were bruises as well. "Oh," Troy went red. He grabbed a top and pulled it on. "I thought you were gone." Gabriella shook her head.

"Uh, no," Gabriella replied. There was an uncomfortable silence before Gabriella blurted out, "You know, those look really sore…you might want to put something on them."

"Yeah," Troy answered, taking in a sharp breath and looking down.

_Okay, time for a change of subject, _Gabriella guessed.

"So…you play basketball? Are you gonna play for Blue Water High?" Gabriella asked. She saw his face brighten a bit.

"Yeah, I'm pretty good at basketball. Since my dad's coaching, I've got a pretty good ticket onto the team," Troy replied. Gabriella spun around as she heard Eva calling.

"Nice getting to know you, Troy," Gabriella said with a smile. "How 'bout I come around at about…um, eight-thirty and we walk to school together?"

"Yeah, cool," Troy grinned at her. Gabriella smiled back and then jogged back downstairs.

_Please review! This is a bit different to what I usually write, so be gentle!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks to all my reviewers!!! I hope I don't let you down. Here's the next chapter:_

Gabriella knocked on the door at eight-thirty, scraping her long dark hair behind her ear. Troy flew down the stairs and out the door without alerting his dad. He glanced over his shoulder quickly and threw a hurried smile at Gabriella.

"Ready to go?"

"Uh, yeah," Gabriella frowned slightly but walked quickly out the gate with him. Troy gave her the first real look and tried not to whistle.

_She's hardly wearing anything! _Troy raised an eyebrow. She wore white short s and a white halter neck, carrying her books and cell-phone in her arms. _And I thought the cheerleaders were show-offs. _But the way Gabriella walked and acted, it didn't seem as though she was showing off. She began filling Troy in about Blue Water High and Troy immediately enjoyed her company.

"…So, you're a cheerleader?"

"Yeah…but I'm also one of the highest academic achievers," Gabriella replied with a cheeky smile.

"That's a weird mix," Troy said. They both started laughing.

"Yeah," Gabriella said again, still giggling. They rounded the corner of the school and were bombarded by four people. Jesse slipped an arm around Gabriella's waist and Taylor and Lisa began babbling about some movie they had seen the night before. "Hey, guys…guys!" Everyone went quiet. "This is Troy; his dad is the new basketball coach." Gabriella slipped an arm around Jesse's waist as well and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Troy felt a surge of jealously flow through his body.

Chad and Jesse started talking to Troy and the six made their way to school.

"I'm more in surfing," Jesse was saying. "But I play basketball as well…just not as seriously as the other guys." Troy nodded.

"Surfings cool." As they walked into the school, a bunch of other guys and a few cheerleaders joined up with them. Troy was somehow pushed away from the group. He watched as Gabriella became the centre of attention. She didn't _do _anything, really, just stood there and everyone seemed to try to everything for her.

The bell then rang, and everyone walked off. Gabriella dropped out of the crowd and hung back, waiting for Troy to catch up. Troy walked alongside her.

"Can I see your schedule?" Gabriella asked. Troy handed it over and Gabriella scanned over it. "We're in homeroom together, so I can show you where that is. Chad has the same Math and English classes as you, so you're covered until Interval," Gabriella assured him. "And then I got Drama with you, then it's Lunch." Gabriella stopped outside a locker and quickly opened. There were pictures of Jesse McCartney, Hayden Christensen and a bunch of surfer guys on her locker wall. Then there was a picture of her, Lisa and Taylor pinned to the far wall with stickers around it.

"Don't we have to get to class?" Troy asked as she rummaged around.

"It's alright," Gabriella replied. "'S'all good. Teachers expect you by the second bell, they start yelling if you're after that." She slammed her locker door shut and she and Troy carried on down the hallway. They entered a room which had music pumping out of a stereo and people were talking, laughing and on cell-phones. "Oh, yeah, welcome to Blue Water High!"

"So school was cool?" Gabriella asked as she walked him home.

"Yeah, it was okay," Troy replied, running a hand through his sandy blonde hair.

"Oh, come on! It was better than that!" Gabriella pressed in a playful tone. Troy cocked his head to one side, teasing her. "You know you did!" Gabriella reached for his arm and squeezed mischievously. Troy felt tingles go down his arm.

"Okay, it's a good school," Troy relented. Gabriella grinned and let her hand slowly let her hand drop to his. Troy was surprised, but held on. They reached his gate and Troy reluctantly let go. "I was thinking of going to the beach later…you wanna come?"

"Sure, I'm always down there--when I'm not with the rest of the cheerleaders. I usually study on the beach as well," Gabriella replied. "I'll meet you somewhere along there around, uh, four-thirty." Troy nodded and then walked up the path to his house. Gabriella smiled and then walked to her house.

"How was school, Gabi?" Eva called as Gabriella walked in.

"Fine--better than usual," Gabriella said with a wistful smile.

"Troy?" Eva asked knowingly. Gabriella smiled. Eva didn't ask any more questions, but gave Gabriella a cheeky smile. It wasn't the first time Gabriella was glad that she lived with her older sister. Gabriella walked upstairs to her room and lay down on her bed.

The double doors were wide open, and the summer breeze blew in, bringing in the salty air. Gabriella just lay on her bed and breathed, letting the air from her balcony doors wash over her. After ten or so minutes, she got up and started working on her Math homework. It was easy, especially since she was so smart, and it was quickly finished. Then, after changing into a bikini and another cotton shirt over top, she pulled out the English and strode down the stairs after collecting a pen.

"I'm going to the beach!" Gabriella yelled.

"Cool," Eva replied as Gabriella strode out the back door down the stairs into the sand.

_Okay, thanks again to my reviewers and please review on this chapter!!!!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Schools back tomorrow and I'm getting back into routine. Oh, and last chapter, someone asked if Jesse and Gabs were going. Well here's the answer: Maybe they are, maybe they aren't. He he he. Here's the next chapter:_

Gabriella lay in the sand, digging her toes in and feeling the silky granules run over her feet. She was writing her English essay on a subject of her choice which was due next week. At the moment, Gabriella didn't know what to write. The waves crashed out in front of her, and Gabriella was enraptured by the gulls dipping and calling.

"Hey!" Troy called from behind her. Gabriella turned over in the sand and looked over at him, lying on her side. Troy sat on the sand beside her. "Doing homework?"

"Yeah, due next Wednesday," Gabriella replied.

"Hey, who's that Sharpay girl? She acts as though she owns the school," Troy asked suddenly. Gabriella grinned.

"Sharpay Evans?" Troy nodded. "She acts as though she owns the school, and I guess, technically she does, a bit. Her parents donate heaps of money each year toward the school, and she takes that as her cue to order the rest of us around." Gabriella grinned again and shook her head. "Ryan Evans--her twin brother--is her puppy dog, does anything she asks him to. You actually feel quite sorry for him."

After about half an hour, the two were talking as though they'd known each other forever. They lay in the sand, side-by-side, laughing and joking and talking.

"What's your favourite colour?" Troy quizzed.

"Uh…forest green," Gabriella replied. Troy nodded. "What's yours?"

"Dark blue," Troy answered. "Favourite teacher?"

"Oh, well that's easy! Ms Darbus," Gabriella giggled.

"Seriously?" Troy asked unbelievingly, moving slightly so he was levered up and resting on his hand, looking down at her. _She has the most beautiful smile..._

"No!" Gabriella cried. "My favourite teacher would be…Mr Clemens, the Art teacher. He's just really funny, and he's _so _good at art." Troy nodded and then lay back down, staring at the sky. "And you? Your dad?"

"I guess," Troy answered. He didn't sound too happy with the subject, so Gabriella left it.

"You wanna go swimming?" She asked.

"Nah, I'm good," Troy replied. "You can, if you want, I'll look after your book." Gabriella grinned, stripped off her cotton top, dropped it by her book and sprinted off to the waves. A few guys came over and started dunking her, and Troy recognized one as Jesse. He had his surfboard out there, and Gabriella was soon sitting on it, Jesse pulling her through the waves. They were laughing and Jesse was obviously flirting hard out with her, even Troy could see it from back on the beach.

Troy sighed and pulled up his -sleeved tee-shirt, wincing at the greenish-blue bruise there.

_At least it's fading_, Troy thought. _I can go swimming then. _But there was still one on his thigh, so he'd have to make sure he wore long board-s. Troy sighed again.

Troy walked Gabriella back up to her house ar around six o'clock. Eva was waiting for them.

"Would you like to stay for dinner, Troy?" Eva asked. "Your dad dropped over and said he was going to the pub with a few other teachers." Troy's face went pale.

"The pub?"

"Yeah, so it would be pretty quiet at home, so do you want to have dinner with us?" Eva asked again. Troy didn't respond for a moment, and then nodded. "Okay, well, we're ordering fish 'n' chips, so tell me what you want." Troy followed Eva inside, as Gabriella brushed sand off her. She was dry since her swim, but Eva hated it when sand got in the house, so she made sure she was dry and sand-free before stepping inside.

"Do you two mind going down and getting the order?" Eva asked after ordering and Gabriella had gotten changed. Gabriella shook her head. "Okay," Eva handed over a few notes and then walked into the kitchen and began setting the table on the veranda over-looking to the beach.

Gabriella and Troy walked in silence for the first few minutes on their way downtown, but then Gabriella asked,

"Why were you so worried about your dad going to the pub? Eva goes there all the time, there's nothing to be worried about," Gabriella tossed her long hair over her shoulder. Troy glanced at her and shrugged unconvincingly.

"Oh, I dunno," Troy muttered. Gabriella could see he _did _know, just wasn't telling her.

"Troy, you've known me for two days, but I can keep a secret," Gabriella assured him. Troy didn't say anything, and so Gabriella decided to leave it there. "Here's the shop," she said as the approached a fish 'n' chips shop.

_Right. Please review._


	4. Chapter 4

_Here's the next chapter. You finally get to find out Troy's secret--even if it is completely obvious._

Saturday night, two weeks later, Gabriella was lying on her bed, watching some sappy love-film. It was so predictable it was downright boring. Suddenly, her cell-phone rang. Gabriella picked it up.

"Gabi here," she said.

"Hey, Gabi, it's me, Troy," Troy's voice filtered through.

"Hey," Gabriella replied in a happy tone.

"Uh, I can't figure out my Science homework, I was wondering if you could come over and help out?" Troy asked.

"Sure," Gabriella responded. "I'll be over in a few minutes." Gabriella got up, pulled on a hoodie that matched her jeans and tube-top and thundered downstairs. "Troy needs help with his homework!" Gabriella yelled as explanation to Eva as she jogged out the front door. As she neared the Bolton's house, she heard a sharp whack. Wincing and frowning in confusion, Gabriella strode up to the front door and looked in through the window beside it. Troy was against the wall, holding his hands in front of him. Jack was advancing toward him. It was obvious he was drunk, because he was swaying off-balance and had a vodka bottle in his hand.

Things seemed to go in slow motion as Jack lifted his hand and slapped Troy across the face. Hard. Gabriella screamed as Troy fell to the ground. Jack spun around, saw Gabriella, and ran out the opposite door. Gabriella pulled open the front door and ran inside.

"Troy! Troy, are you okay?" Gabriella asked, dropping to her knees and helping him sit up. Troy looked at her, cringing, and touching his cheek. Gabriella held his other hand tightly. "Troy, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Troy whispered in a choked voice.

"No, you're not," Gabriella replied. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. Tears ran down Troy's face as he hid his face in her hair and shoulder. "What happened?" Gabriella finally asked. Troy moved away from her and leaned heavily against the wall.

"He got drunk," Troy murmured.

"That's why you were so worried when he went down to the pub," Gabriella murmured, things falling into place. "You though he would get drunk."

"He did get drunk," Troy replied. He pulled up his long-sleeve top and showed Gabriella a dark purple bruise. Gabriella felt the lump in her chest rise to her throat. She had heard about people getting drunk and hurting ones they loved, but she never expected it to happen to anyone she knew. "But you can't tell anyone!" Troy hissed, grasping her hands.

"Why? Your dad needs medical help!" Gabriella protested. Troy seemed to have forgotten about the slap he had just received.

"No! Gabi! You have to promise not to tell!" Troy growled to her. Gabriella somehow found herself nodding.

"Okay," she whispered. "But let me put some stuff on that bruise, it looks really bad." Troy finally nodded and let go of her hands. Gabriella let out a shaky breath and then hugged Troy again. He hugged her back, his strong arms around her waist.

"That was a long time for homework," Eva said as Gabriella finally walked back into the house two hours later. Gabriella managed a weak smile and shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess," Gabriella walked into the kitchen and flicked on the jug. Eva followed.

"You guys weren't doing homework, were you?" Eva said in a knowing voice. Gabriella turned around and tried not to let frustration show on her face. Eva was just being…Eva, plain, old curious Eva. She knew Gabriella was lying and she knew Gabriella wasn't telling her something. But she thought it was something good, not something terrible.

"We _were_ doing homework," Gabriella defended. "Don't you believe me?" Eva smiled and changed tact.

"Was his dad there?"

"Uh, no," Gabriella answered. She realized how bad that sounded and cringed inwardly. The jug finished boiling and buzzed. Gabriella turned her back on Eva and began making herself a coffee. "But Eva, nothing happened."

"Okay, whatever you say," Eva muttered unbelievingly as she left he room. Gabriella sighed as she picked the coffee up and walked upstairs to her room.

_Hope you all enjoyed. Please review._


	5. Chapter 5

_Here's da next chapter. I just wanted to say THANK-YOU for all the reviews. Seriously amazing how popular this story is. He he. And just to confirm that Eva is Gabriella's SISTER, not her mum. Hm..._

Gabriella stayed in bed until ten o'clock the next morning. It was Sunday and she was in no rush to get up. Her friends would come up soon, wondering if she was sick. Eva had been up twice, asking why she wasn't at the beach or even out of bed. But Gabriella didn't feel like going to the beach, not with Troy's secret looming around her.

"Gabi? Gabi, you've got a visitor," Eva called opening the door. Gabriella was prepared to launch into a big excuse, but it was Troy.

"Oh," Gabriella sat up and self-consciously ran a hand through her hair. "Hey." Troy looked uncomfortable and rubbed his arm. "Are you okay? Did you come to ask something?"

"I…just wanted to say thanks, that's all," Troy murmured. Then he suddenly leaned down and kissed her cheek softly. He then stood up and waited for her response.

"Wh--Why'd you do that?" Gabriella finally stammered. Troy gave her a quick smile and then backed out of the room. "Uh…right." Gabriella blinked and then collapsed back on her pillow, grinning.

* * *

At ten-thirty, Gabriella was dressed in a denim mini-skirt over her bikini bottoms and a pink halter over her black bikini top. Jesse was the only one sitting on the beach, dripping wet and laying in the sand, soaking up the sun.

"Hey, Jess," Gabriella called as she walked slowly across the sand. He sat up, grinned at her and patted the towel beside him. Gabriella sat down and stared out at the ocean. After ten minutes or so, Jesse broke the silence.

"You really like that Troy dude, don't you?" Jesse asked. Gabriella turned to him in shock.

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, you don't change when he's around, but there's something different about you," Jesse shrugged and turned his blue eyes to three cheerleaders sashaying over. "He's lucky," Jesse murmured. Gabriella leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Don't worry, Jess, I still love you," she assured her with a cheeky grin. He grinned and started flirting with the cheerleaders.

"Gabs, didn't know you were here!" Lisa cried as she sprinted up through the sand. She fell down next to Gabriella and sprayed her with water. "You gonna come into the water--Troy's finally made it in!" Lisa pointed out to a bunch of people in the water.

"Yeah," Gabriella stood up, pulled off the halter and skirt and ran behind Lisa into the water. Troy saw her as Gabriella gave a squeal as a wave hit her around her waist. Giving a smile to Chad and Jason Cross, he slipped under the water.

Suddenly cold arms came around Gabriella legs and she screamed before disappearing under a wave. Lisa spun around in surprise and then grinned as Troy came out of the water, followed by an indignant Gabriella.

"That. Wasn't. Funny," Gabriella hissed. Troy was in a good mood, finally being in the water, and didn't let her put him off.

"Oh yes, it was," he answered.

"Yo! Troy! How'd you get that bruise on your back?" Chad asked. Troy tensed momentarily before turning around and saying,

"When we were moving, I was helping my dad with a couch, and I whacked into the door-frame since I was walking backwards," Troy answered easily. The others nodded and then went back to swimming and splashing. Gabriella moved over to Troy and smiled at him. He moved his feet backward and Gabriella followed, moving into deeper water and away from the others. Her arms went around his neck and her feet left the sandy, ocean floor as he gently pulled her after him.

"Does your dad always get drunk?" Gabriella whispered. Troy looked pained as he answered.

"I guess…yeah," Troy muttered. Gabriella wrapped her arms loosely around his neck and smiled at him. The tenseness went from his face and he slowly turned in the water, Gabriella spinning with him. He leaned in and kissed her wet forehead. "Thanks for not telling."

"I know what it's like to have secrets," she answered with a smile. Troy arms went around her waist and they grinned at each other.

_Give me some of your amazing reviews!!!_


	6. Chapter 6

_This is the second to last chapter. The next story on will be posted when I post the final chapter. Thanks!_

Over the next week, Troy and Gabriella became closer and closer. They hung out after school and helped each other with homework. Taylor and Lisa were perceptive enough to pick up that Troy had told Gabriella something and she was keeping it a secret. Jesse was still a bit jealous of the attention that Gabriella was suddenly showing Troy, but a few pretty girls helped him through that.

On Friday, school broke up for the summer six-week holidays. Troy walked out class with Jason and Chad. Chad had become really good friends with him, and they were practically inseparable (aside from when they were with girls).

"Hey, Troy!" Gabriella called as she walked across the courtyard with Lisa. Troy grinned at her and gave her quick kiss on the cheek. Gabriella smiled at him and then slapped hands with Chad and Jason. Jesse walked over with Taylor and the gang walked out of the school.

"It seems like we just started for the term? Can you _believe _school has already finished?"

"Uh, yes!" Chad, Jesse, Jason and Troy shouted in unison. The girls laughed and then turned into a diary, pulling their wallets out of their purses. Milkshakes and ice-creams were ordered and the boys bagged all the chairs at the back.

"Hey, what happened to "ladies first"?" Gabriella asked indignantly.

"Dunno," Troy laughed. Gabriella's mouth dropped and she crossed her arms in a pretend-huff. "Come on, you can sit here," Troy patted his lap. Gabriella sat down heavily, but she still felt like a feather. Their orders came and the other girls pulled up more chairs.

"I've got a job _Beach-Side Café _again. I swear, the boss has a crush on me," Gabriella giggled. "He offers me a job every break." Taylor grinned and Lisa just looked plain jealous.

"He does have a crush on you. That means we always get the left over jobs," Taylor pouted. Chad gave her friendly punch on the arm and she grinned at him. "Anyways, me and Liss got a job this time as well." Lisa nodded. "What about you guys?"

"I dunno, probably get a delivery job or something," Jesse shrugged. Lisa grinned.

"Oh yeah, you're a great delivery boy," she teased. "You guys remember that time he delivered all of the nines and six's to the opposite houses because he was looking at the addresses the wrong way up?" The rest of the table laughed, aside from Jesse.

"Hey! That was an honest mistake!" He protested.

"I'm sure it was," Gabriella mocked.

Troy walked Gabriella home after they came from the café, and he grasped her arm as she turned to go up the driveway. Gabriella smiled, and gave him a tight hug. Troy felt his insides clench in excitement as he kissed him on the cheek.

"I'll see you tomorrow, kay?" Gabriella confirmed.

"Yeah, at the beach," Troy released her and she walked up the pathway to her house, turning to smile at him once again before she pushed open the door and went inside. Troy walked home to his house, and was surprised to find it empty. There was a note on the fridge.

_Gone out. Back soon. _

Troy winced.

_Gone out _would be gone out to the pub. _Back soon _would be back late tonight. Troy took in a deep, shaky breath, screwed the note up in his hand and walked slowly upstairs to his room.

_Please review!!_


	7. Chapter 7

_People! I have offically finished the first story of the _Chronicles of Blue Water Bay. _The first chapter of the next story has also been posted so please read that as well. Thanks to all my reviewers, there's been TONS of review!!! _

_Here's the final chappie:_

On Monday night, Gabriella was completely wasted. She had gone for a long as swim and then she had baby-sat for a very lively pair of twins. She had stumbled upstairs to her room, changed into flannel pyjama pants and a singlet and then fell back on her bed at eight o'clock and immediately fell off to sleep.

Around one in the morning, there was a tapping on her window. Gabriella blinked, groaned and then rolled out of bed and crawled over to the balcony doors. She pulled herself up and pushed back the curtains.

"Troy," she murmured as she opened the door. She gasped when she saw him. His eye was slightly swollen and his lip was cut. "Are you okay? What happened?" She murmured, moving over to him and wrapped her arms around him. He blinked down at her.

"Dad came home really drunk. He got mad 'cause he remembered you were there last time, and he said you were…uh, I won't repeat it," Troy muttered, looking distraught. "Do you, um, wanna go for a walk?" He asked. Gabriella was about to point out it was ten past one on a Tuesday morning, but his face was desperate, and she found herself agreeing. They shinned down the tree and quietly walked out of the yard and onto the beach.

They passed a house where there was an automatic light and it flashed on as they walked past. Gabriella got a better view of Troy's face and she gasped. Troy flinched and looked away.

"Troy?" She murmured. "He did that, aye?" He nodded. Gabriella touched his arm and he turned to face her. The corner of his lip was bloody and he had swiped as much of it as he could away, but some had remained on the slit. His cheek was darkening in a bruise and he was going to one heck of a shiner around his left eye. "You have to tell someone, Troy, I can't let you get hurt anymore." Instantly, Troy's eye's fired up and he pulled away from her.

"No!" He fired back. "They'll take him away! He's my dad, I can't do that to him!"

"And he can't do this to you!" Gabriella cried, grabbing both his hands and pulling him closer to her. "He _is _your dad, and…he cares about you. But he has a drinking problem, and he needs help with it. You need too talk to him and get him to get help." Troy shook his head and tears gathered in his eyes.

"He promised me," Troy's voice cracked. "He promised to stop the drinking once we moved here. He _promised_." He looked so lost, so helpless and Gabriella tugged his hands so he looked at her again. "He said that he would either get help, or stop himself."

"Troy," Gabriella began in a soft voice. "I like you. I like you _a lot._" The words just came out, even though she hadn't meant to say them. But she couldn't take them back and so she carried on. "I can't watch you getting hurt and not do anything about it, it hurts me as well." Troy only looked at her once, and then collapsed in the sand. Gabriella in front of him, her feet sliding through the silky sand and she put both hands on Troy's shoulders. "Look at m--"

"I like you too," Troy murmured softly. Gabriella's hands lost their place on his shoulders as he looked at her. She was at loss for words and didn't know what to say so she stuttered a moment before carrying on.

"You _have _to tell someone," she told him earnestly.

"I…don't know," he muttered and tears began to fall down his cheeks. Gabriella leaned forward and gently brushed them away and then wrapped her arms around him.

"Sh, sh, you're safe here," she murmured into his hair. "You're safe with me."

_Please read the next story!!_


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